For more than 30 years, Gavin MacLeod has served as the global ambassador for Princess Cruises. Speaking to thousands of travelers each year, and signing hundreds of autographs at every port, he stands poised to celebrate his amazing journey with a look back at the golden era of American television. The consummate storyteller, Gavin shares his fondest memories of meeting and working with countless stars, such as Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman, Ella Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Milton Berle, and Fred Astaire. From his humble theatrical beginnings in upstate New York, to Radio City Music Hall and on to Hollywood, Gavin MacLeod was on the fast track to success. However, a few hard life lessons-like dealing with a divorce-taught Gavin that the key to happiness was only through a deep faith in God, and he feels his work for Christ is more important than any award. Three years later his remarriage proved that a great struggle can culminate in a happy ending.

Derek's journey to Albert Square has proved to be an eventful one. A bone fide East Ender, born within the sound of Bow Bells, Derek grew up during the Blitz in a tight-knit, working-class family. In this candid memoir he describes those tough early days, his stint in the police, life on the wrong side of the law and how he turned his dream of being an actor into a reality. But not before trying his hand as a professional gambler and acting as a runner for the notorious East End gangster Charlie Kray, brother of twins Ronnie and Reggie. Determined to be an actor, Derek began his hugely successful stage and screen career firstly as a stuntman; before landing memorable TV roles in series such as Law and Order, Minder, King and Castle, The Governor and doomed soap Eldorado. In this frank and revealing tale, Derek pulls no punches as he admits past mistakes and describes his remarkable transformation into one of our best loved actors. Meet the man behind the character as he shares with readers his heartbreak over two marriage break ups and his devotion to his twin boys. An East End Life is a truly remarkable story spanning nearly seven decades, packed with tears and laughter that will endear you to this popular star.

This book THE LIFE is a tell all book covering 40 years of criminal activity. The book is written by a retired mobster who was the main drug connection to the stars in hollywood (The Candy Man To The Stars). The book is shocking, honest, revealing and real. It is a cover to cover page turner.

The simple fact is that the utterance 'Brad Pitt' tends to prompt strong reactions--either reflecting hype, excitement, or revulsion concerning one or more of this actor's roles, or reflecting piqued interest in the various issues (be they political, intellectual, or social) that Pitt seems to stand for. In short, Brad Pitt is a productively perplexing subject. "Deconstructing Brad Pitt" attends to these strong reactions, exploring what issues are raised and interrogated by the many manifestations of Brad Pitt. Several chapters look at how Pitt's roles challenge or perpetuate key myths prevalent throughout contemporary American culture; other chapters read Pitt's performances as allegories for dramas that are playing out in larger spheres, such as global capital, new media aesthetics, and celebrity humanitarianism. Still other chapters delineate the intersections of Pitt's celebrity status with his on-screen performances, arguing for expressions of self-awareness and meta-commentaries on celebrity culture and contemporary art practices. Written in accessible prose and drawing from the expertise of a range of scholars and writers in different fields, Deconstructing Brad Pitt will unperplex the mysteries surrounding the star status and numerous roles of Brad Pitt.

Rose Hobart enjoyed an extensive theatrical career in the 1920s, became a Hollywood leading lady in 1930, and had a second film career as a character player in the late 1930s and 1940s. Born into a family of musicians, she recalls childhood summers in Woodstock, NY, the beginnings of her theatrical career in Chautauqua, and an early and misunderstood friendship with the great Broadway star Eva Le Gallienne, which led to her appearing opposite Noel Coward in The Vortex and starring in the original stage production of Death Takes a Holiday. In 1930, she made her Hollywood screen debut in Frand Borzage's production of Liliom. Rouben Mamoulian selected her to co-star opposite Fredric March in his legendary 1932 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Unhappy in Los Angeles, Miss Hobart returned to New York, but after various misadventures, came back to the screen as a character actress in such films as Tower of London (1939) with Basil Rathbone and Susan and God(1940) with Joan Crawford. During World War II, she toured with the USO in the Aleutians, a difficult but also amusing period. The autobiography is peppered with famous names from Broadway to Hollywood, but it is also a highly personal work, in which Miss Hobart unabashedly discusses her three marriages and her failures. She ends her story with the grim reality of being blacklisted. Rose Hobart is perhaps the only Hollywood star to be immortalized in a modern work of art, an avant-garde short by filmmaker and artist Joseph Cornell, named in her honor and based on footage from the 1931 film East of Borneo. Readers of her autobiography will be as mesmerized by Rose Hobart as was Joseph Cornell more than fifty years ago.

Here is Niven at his best. He and Errol Flynn were filming The Charge of the Light Brigade for a director, Michael Curtiz, 'whose Hungarian-orientated English was a joy to us all'. High on the rostrum he decided the moment had come to order the arrival on the scene of a hundred riderless chargers. "Okay," he yelled into a megaphone, "Bring on the empty horses!" ' BRING ON THE EMPTY HORSES is the second part of David Niven's internationally bestselling autobiography, following the superbly entertaining THE MOON'S A BALLOON. Both books were highly acclaimed by the critics and remain as wonderful reminders of a much-loved actor who epitomised, for many, the essential British gent, even when surrounded by the stars of Hollywood.

Lew Resseguie has known Presidents, worked professionally as an actor in theater, film and television, a songwriter, newspaperman, and theatrical director and producer. He started his professional life as a newspaperman for the Washington Daily News in the Nations Capitol, decided to pursue his passion at the age of 44, in theater, and was highly successful in pursuit of that career working in theater, TV and film in New York City for nearly 30 years.He is married To Diane Lefrancois, a dancer formerly of Norwich, CT whom he met while performing in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

'The book is filled with that most distinctive of all her qualities: her voice' The Times Home Work, the second instalment of Julie Andrews' internationally bestselling memoirs, begins with her arrival in Hollywood to make her screen debut in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. It was closely followed by The Sound of Music, and the beginning of a movie career that would make her an icon to millions all over the world. With her trademark charm and candour, Julie reveals behind-the-scenes details and reflections on her impressive body of work - from the incredible highs to the challenging lows. She shares her professional experiences and collaborations with giants of cinema and television, and also unveils her personal story of adjusting to a new and often daunting world. This included dealing with unimaginable public scrutiny, being a new mother, embracing two stepchildren, adopting two more children, and falling in love with the brilliant and mercurial Blake Edwards. The pair worked together in numerous films, including 10, S.O.B and Victor/Victoria. Home Work takes us on a rare and intimate journey into a remarkable life that is funny, heart-breaking and inspiring.

Audiences everywhere fell in love with Marlee Matlin as the deaf student-turned-custodian in Children of a Lesser God, a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar. Since then, she has become an inspirational force of nature - as a mother, activist and role model - in addition to playing memorable roles on popular television shows, such as Seinfeld, The West Wingand The L Word, and competing on Dancing with the Stars.Now, in I'll Scream Later, Marlee shares the story of her life. Marlee takes readers on a journey of her life, from the frightening loss of her hearing at eighteen months old to the highs and lows of Hollywood, her battles with addiction, and the unexpected challenges of being thrust into the spotlight as an emissary for the deaf community. She candidly shares for the first time the troubles of her youth, the passionate and tumultuous two-year relationship with Oscar winner William Hurt that led to a stint in rehab, and her subsequent romances with heartthrobs like Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson, and David E. Kelley. Written with uncompromising honesty and humour, Matlin's story is an unforgettable lesson in having the courage to follow your dreams.

Beginning with the early Arab-American playwright, poet and novelist Kahlil Gibran and concluding with contemporary playwright Yussef El Guindi, this book provides an historical overview and critical analysis of the plays, films and performances of self-identified Arab Americans. Arab-American identity, self-representation and the notion of resistance literature in these works are addressed. Playwrights, performers and filmmakers covered include Ameen Fares Rihani, Danny Thomas, Heather Raffo, Ahmed Ahmed, Mona Mansour and Cherien Dabis. These artists, traditionally underrepresented in entertainment, publishing and academia, have created works that exemplify the burgeoning Arab-American arts movement. By addressing cinema, stand-up comedy and solo performance, the author introduces audiences to contemporary genres that are currently shaping Arab American culture in the U.S.

Ellen Terry's correspondence was both exuberant and extensive. Her remaining letters provide a fascinating insight into the dynamics of the Victorian theatre, and the difficulties of life for a woman maintaining a successful public persona whilst raising two illegitimate children.

This edited volume provides new readings of the life and career of iconic actress Vivien Leigh (1913-67). Written by experts in theatre and film studies and curators from the Victoria and Albert Museum, it uses newly accessible family archives to explore the intensely complex relationship between Leigh's approach to the craft of acting for stage and screen and how she shaped, developed and projected her public persona as one of the most talked about and photographed actresses of her era. Featuring key contributors from the UK, France and the US, the chapters range from analyses of Leigh's work on stage and screen to her collaborations with designers and photographers, an analysis of her fan base, her interior designs and the 'public ownership' of Leigh's celebrity status during her lifetime and beyond. -- .

Libraries abound with books on silent film history and numerous biographies on the legendary stars, but what about the thousands and thousands of actors who never obtained legendary status? Film enthusiasts with easy access to silent films today have become interested in those long ago players who supported the star. This necrology is devoted solely to the actors of the Silent Screen. The book includes entries for some 7,500 deceased actors as well as directors, producers, writers, politicians, and sports figures who appeared in silent films. Included are 50 biographical essays on former stars, leading players and comedians who until now have been primarily footnotes in film history. The essays relate the early demise of promising players, how some lived lives as tragic as any they portrayed on the screen and how some lived long lives on the fringes of past glory, totally forgotten. Invaluable to film researchers and enthusiasts who want to know what happened to the actors of the silent screen who made shadows an art form.

Curly Watts is a TV icon - for twenty years appearing on millions of TV screens around the country in Coronation Street. Kevin Kennedy is one of the UK's most successful soap actors, although behind the scenes and high-profile appearances, he faced a painful personal battle. Kevin shares his experiences of alcoholism, rehab and IVF as well stories from the set and stars he worked with during some of the brightest, and darkest moments of his life, through to his music career and current roles. This brutally honest autobiography provides a rare glimpse into life behind the scenes, the power of addiction, and his battle with recovery.

Live theatre was once the main entertainment medium in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The preeminent dramatists and actors of the day wrote and performed in numerous plays in which crime was a major plot element. This remains true today, especially with the longest-running shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd. While hundreds of books have been published about crime fiction in film and on television, the topic of stage mysteries has been largely unexplored. Covering productions from the 18th century to the 2013-2014 theatre season, this volume is the first history of crime plays according to subject matter. More than 20 categories are identified, including whodunits, comic mysteries, courtroom dramas, musicals, crook plays, social issues, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie. Nearly 900 plays are described, including the reactions of critics and audiences.

From Ann Miller to Jimmy Stewart, from Marilyn Monroe to George Clooney to Sir Laurence Olivier, Giancarlo Menotti, Dolly Parton, Billy Crystal, and a host of others, author and actress Peggy Pope has crossed paths with a number of extraordinary artists. In "atta girl," she tells stories from her life, beginning with her childhood in Montclair, New Jersey, in the 1930s as she acts her way through the years to the twenty-first century.

She belongs to that group of professional actors who travels from from job to job and coast to coast performing on stage, film, television, cabaret, and commercials. She writes in detail about her work as well as how she got into show business where she gave advice to Dolly Parton in "9 to 5," gave Billy Crystal a hard time on "SOAP," and acted in an EMMY winning episode of Barney Miller. On ER she was brought in for a psychiatric evaluation.

Filled with humorous touches, "atta girl" offers a potpourri of stories from the trenches and gives an insider's look at both the joys and challenges of show business.

Harry Langdon was a silent screen comedian unlike any other. Slower in pace, more studied in movement, and quirkier in nature, Langdon challenged the comic norm by offering comedies that were frequently edgy and often surreal. After a successful run of short comedies with Mack Sennett, Langdon became his own producer at First National Pictures, making such features as Tramp Tramp Tramp, The Strong Man, and Long Pants before becoming his own director for Three's a Crowd, The Chaser, and Heart Trouble. In The Silent Films of Harry Langdon (1923-1928), film historian James Neibaur examines Langdon's strange, fascinating work during the silent era, when he made landmark films that were often ahead of their time. Extensively reviewing the comedian's silent screen work film by film, Neibaur makes the case that Langdon should be accorded the same lofty status as his contemporaries: Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With fascinating insights into the work of an under-appreciated artist, this book will be of interest to both fans and scholars of silent cinema.

With a career spanning four decades, Wes Craven (1939-2015) bridged independent exploitation cinema and Hollywood big-budget horror. A pioneer of the modern horror cinema, Craven directed such landmark films as The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream-considered not only classics of the genre, but examples of masterful filmmaking. Producing an impressive oeuvre that mixed intellectual concerns and political ideas, Craven utilized high-tension suspense, devastating visual brutality, and dark humor to evoke a unique brand of fear. Moreover, his films draw attention to the horror of American society-Namely racism, classism, and the traumas often associated with family. This collection of twenty-nine interviews-spanning from 1980 until his final interview in 2015-traces Craven's life and career, from his upbringing in a strict religious family and his life as an academic to his years toiling in exploitation cinema. The volume also chronicles Craven's ascendancy as an independent director, his work within the studio system, and his eventual triumph in mainstream cinema. Within the interviews gathered here, including three previously unpublished pieces, Craven reflects on failed projects and the challenges of working with studios while offering thoughtful meditations on the dynamics and appeal of horror. Wes Craven: Interviews cements Craven's legacy as a master of horror who left an indelible mark on the genre by forever altering expectations of-and approaches to-the cinema of fear.

If you ran into Stephen Tobolowsky on the street, you would not be mistaken: Yes, you've seen him before. A childhood dentist? A former geometry teacher? Your local florist? Tobolowsky is a character actor, one of the most prolific screen and stage presences of our time, having appeared in productions that range from Deadwood to Glee, from Mississippi Burning to Groundhog Day. But Stephen Tobolowsky, it turns out, is also a dazzlingly talented storyteller and writer. The Dangerous Animals Clubis a beguiling series of stories combining biography and essay, with a tone both hilarious and introspective. The stories have heroics and embarrassments, riotous humour and pathos, characters ranging from Bubbles the Pigmy Hippo to Stephen's unforgettable mother, and scenes that include coke-fueled parties, Hollywood sets, and hospital rooms. Told in a voice that is "wry, discursive, and full of generous spirit and curiosity" (Kirkus Reviews), Tobolowsky renders the majestic out of the mundane, profundity from the patently absurd, and grace from tragedy. The Dangerous Animals Clubmarks the debut of a massively talented storyteller.

Curly Watts is a TV icon - for twenty years appearing on millions of TV screens around the country in Coronation Street. Kevin Kennedy is one of the UK's most successful soap actors, although behind the scenes and high-profile appearances, he faced a painful personal battle. Kevin shares his experiences of alcoholism, rehab and IVF as well stories from the set and stars he worked with during some of the brightest, and darkest moments of his life, through to his music career and current roles. This brutally honest autobiography provides a rare glimpse into life behind the scenes, the power of addiction, and his battle with recovery.

In the closing pages of her 1988 autobiography Debbie: My Life, Debbie Reynolds wrote about finding her brave, loyal, and loving new husband. After two broken marriages, this third, she believed, was her lucky charm. But within a few years, Debbie discovered that he had betrayed her emotionally and financially, nearly destroying her life. Today, she says, When I read the optimistic ending of my last memoir now, I can't believe how naive I was when I wrote it. In Unsinkable, I look back at the many years since then, and share my memories of a film career that took me from the Miss Burbank Contest of 1948 to the work I did in 2012...To paraphrase Bette Davis: Fasten your seatbelts, I've had a bumpy ride. Unsinkable shines a spotlight on the resilient woman whose talent and passion for her work have endured for more than six decades. In her engaging, down-to-earth voice, Debbie shares private details about her man and money troubles, including building and losing both her Las Vegas dream hotel and her treasured Hollywood memorabilia collection. Yet no matter how difficult the problems, the show always goes on. Debbie also invites us into the close circle of her family life, speaking with deep affection and honesty about her relationships with her children, Carrie and Todd Fisher. She looks back at her life as an actress during Hollywood's Golden Age- the most magical time you could imagine, including her lifelong friendship with (and years-long estrangement from) the legendary Elizabeth Taylor. Here, too, are stories that never reached the tabloids about numerous celebrities such as Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Gene Kelly, and many more. She takes us on a guided tour through her movies with delightful, often hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes about every film in which she was involved, from 1948 to the present. Frank and forthright, and featuring dozens of previously unseen photos from her personal collection, Unsinkable is a poignant reminder that there is light in the darkest times. It is a revealing portrait of a woman whose determination is an inspiration.

The Emmy-nominated star of the classic 1950s sitcom I Married Joan, Joan Davis (1912-1961) was also radio's highest paid comedienne in the 1940s and she displayed her unique brand of knockabout comedy in more than forty films. This book provides a complete account of her career, including a filmography with critical commentary, and the most detailed episode logs ever compiled for her radio and television programmes. A biographical chapter offers never-before-published information about her family background, marriage to vaudeville comedian Si Wills, relationships with other men and her tragic early death.

Introduction to the Alexander Technique, part of the brand-new Acting Essentials series, is the first textbook about the Alexander Technique written specially for undergraduates. This eight-week program can be taught over the course of half a semester, a full semester, or dipped into as needed to address students' issues with physicality, movement, breathing, voice and performance habits. The Alexander Technique has been a vital part of training for performers since the early 20th century. It is a core part of the curriculum at most acting conservatories and in many BFA programs. Sometimes considered purely a movement discipline, the Alexander Technique in fact takes into consideration the entire person-mind, body, voice, emotions, and imagination. Introduction to the Alexander Technique addresses the student's self as a whole and is suitable for beginning acting students in any academic setting, including those who take performance classes as an elective. The book also includes more than 150 practical, easy-to-follow exercises that help students reduce tension and improve their alignment, flexibility, and poise. The textbook is supported by a range of online videos demonstrating key exercises described throughout the book.

From his early horror movies, including Scanners, Videodrome, Rabid, and The Fly-with their exploding heads, mutating sex organs, rampaging parasites, and scientists turning into insects-to his inventive adaptations of books by William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Don DeLillo (Cosmopolis), and Bruce Wagner (Maps to the Stars), Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943) has consistently dramatized the struggle between the aspirations of the mind and the messy realities of the flesh. ""I think of human beings as a strange mixture of the physical and the non-physical, and both of these things have their say at every moment we're alive,"" says Cronenberg. ""My films are some kind of strange metaphysical passion play."" Moving deftly between genre and arthouse filmmaking and between original screenplays and literary adaptations, Cronenberg's work is thematically consistent and marked by a rigorous intelligence, a keen sense of humor, and a fearless engagement with the nature of human existence. He has been exploring the most primal themes since the beginning of his career and continues to probe them with growing maturity and depth. Cronenberg's work has drawn the interest of some of the most intelligent contemporary film critics, and the fifteen interviews in this volume feature remarkably in-depth and insightful conversations with such acclaimed writers as Amy Taubin, Gary Indiana, David Breskin, Dennis Lim, Richard Porton, Gavin Smith, and more. The pieces herein reveal Cronenberg to be one of the most articulate and deeply philosophical directors now working, and they comprise an essential companion to an endlessly provocative and thoughtful body of work.